Old Spice Shave Kit Part Deux - Shulton Strikes Back!

Discussion in 'General Shaving Talk' started by Tim Spencer, Dec 18, 2016.

  1. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    Ahem,

    A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away, our grandfathers and great grandfathers shaved with a scent so masculine, so powerful, no other scent would ever match its fame and glory. This time it's the original 'real' Shulton products!


    Special Thanks to:
    [​IMG] Josh Lindt of Desire Metal Works

    [​IMG] Nathan of Envy Shave
    [​IMG] Matt Pisarcik of Razor Emporium

    [​IMG]

    These are the Shulton products in the lineup and their ages as far as my research can discern:

    Fragrance - Shulton Old Spice Cologne Spray circa 1980's
    Shave Soap - Shulton Old Spice circa late 1970's-1980's
    Shulton Shave Mug with Custom Lid by Nathan of Envy Shave
    Aftershave - Shulton Old Spice circa late 1970's-1980's
    Deodorant - Shulton Old Spice circa mid 1980's

    "Grand Turk Ship" Shaving Stand by Desire Metal Works
    Razor - Gillette Superspeed circa 1947-1952 (Re-plated in Nickel Finish by Razor Emporium)
    Shave Brush - Custom Created Handle by an "Unknown" Artist (Fitted with a 26mm Synthetic Knot by Nathan of Envy Shave)



    The Razor for this shave set is the Gillette Superspeed circa 1947-1952 (Re-plated in Nickel Finish by Razor Emporium).
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    The shave brush handle was secretly made and I have not been told 'who' constructed it. All I know that that Nathan of Shave Envy fitted the handle with a synthetic knot. The handle's artist remains "Unknown". It is one of a kind and no other like it exists in the world and no other will ever be made after it.
    [​IMG]


    The razor/brush Stand was custom made by Josh of Desire Metal Works as an artistic impression of the Old Spice Grand Turk Ship. This took 6 months to construct. It weighs nearly 7 pounds. It's painted and clear-coated to withstand bathroom elements.
    [​IMG]

    I managed to assemble the Shulton products from Ebay purchases.
    [​IMG]


    The mug's lid was custom made by Nathan of Envy Shave
    [​IMG]


    I FINALLY got a chance to smell the Shulton scent in its true intent with the soap. I had a shave just now and I must say that the soap retains the floral elements a bit better than the aftershave and cologne. I spent well over $100 with careful buying to try and get the most well preserved Shulton era after shave and cologne bottles.

    The Shulton shave soap's slickness is still apparently there and the protection is beyond top notch. No raw scrapes or cuts at all from my shave. The post-shave feel has a moisturizer-feel, as if I applied a post-shave lotion. I would give this old shave soap top marks in scent, protection and post-shave feel, with a slight deduction on slickness as I did have to slightly refresh the lather with a few drops of water on my face at one point in the shave to restore the slickness.

    The Old Spice deodorant smells like I remember it in the late 70's and 80's. The same faded/aged floral note is apparent. The sweetness is not there in the deodorant very much but then again, this is exactly how I remember the Old Spice deodorant smelling with just a blast of alcohol and the unmistakable Old Spice base notes. I don't think I ever remember any intense floral notes from the the deodorant.

    I am relatively satisfied that I got the best possible Old Spice offerings from Ebay within reason. In my opinion, the newly purchased Tester Spray is the very BEST preservation of the Shulton Cologne that I've ever smelled. I'm very, very happy with the spray tester version! If you can find a tester spray of the Shulton Long Lasting Cologne, GRAB IT!

    As in my previous testings, the slight faded-aged-floral note goes away after 20-30 mins and a nice Old Spice aura takes it's place.

    Because the soap preserved the original Shulton smell so perfectly, I can categorically state that the old Shulton formula smells different from the new Proctor & Gamble version and that difference is most glaringly in the opening of the scent. The floral notes are VERY DIFFERENT on the opening between the old and new versions. The final drydowns however, are very similar with the new Proctor & Gamble, IMO, having a more intense 'sweetness'. Both are unmistakably Old Spice, but I liken the difference between the two like a famous cologne which the company makes a 'flanker' out of. A flanker, for those who don't know, is a cologne or perfume that has all the main notes and spirit of the original famous cologne, but adds a twist or a slight alteration for a different effect. Most of the time the basenotes of the flanker are the DNA from the original. Such is the case, IMO, with the Proctor & Gamble version.

    Shulton version -
    Opening - A deeper floral (Geranium and Carnation) with no 'bite' in the scent. The floral smells less artificial/chemical and more like an essential oil from the source odors.
    Middle Notes - Musk, Nutmeg (likely that 'sweet' note) and a ever so slight cedar
    Basenotes - Later, the cedar fades and the nutmeg stays and the basenotes of Ambergris, Vanilla, Jasmine take over to finish things off and they last for up to a day or more.

    Proctor & Gamble version -
    Opening - An intense, piercing and 'dry' floral with a tad of acidic orange/lemon and it has an intense 'bite' to the opening that is NOT in the original Shulton formula. A note of nutmeg is very identifiable and it lends a much needed sweetness to 'mellow out' the dry/piercing floral/citrus opening. This piercing acidity lasts for about 3 and a half hours, then settles.
    Middle Notes - As the floral fades, the sweet nutmeg, tonka bean and vanilla are at the front and the floral, settles down into a nice play in the mix. This is the time where the Proctor & Gamble begins to 'start' to smell highly similar to Shulton's version, but MUCH sweeter on the nutmeg note than the original.
    Basenotes - About 5-6 hours the basenotes completely take over, the floral is all but burned off and is not identifiable anymore. The nutmeg note settles down a bit and allows the jasmine note and musk to sing. This stage is unmistakably 'Old Spice', only the nutmeg and vanilla are more intense in this drydown than in the Shulton formula.

    In that final drydown, Proctor & Gamble's flanker version is the better one for me. It's sweeter and I just love smelling the finale of the P&G version over and over again. It's more 'intense' in the notes that make Old Spice 'great'. That said, there is very little doubt that in the opening and middle notes in the first 5 hours, the Shulton version is the superior fragrance that is more well balanced, less cloying, more masculine, far less sweet/ambery than the P&G version.

    Both the original Shulton and Proctor & Gamble versions are great and I love them both.

    I wish there was a way that P&G would bring back the Shulton formula.

    This concludes my presentation of my personal Shulton Old Spice Tribute Shaving Set.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2018
    Enrico, steve207, PLANofMAN and 17 others like this.
  2. PickledNorthern

    PickledNorthern Fabulous, the unicorn

    I am glad you finally got it all put together. I know you have worked on it quite a while.
     
  3. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    Thank you Tim @Tim Spencer for the scent descriptions. Before joining the Wet Shave Resurgence I'd have dismissed Old Spice as yesterdays news. Now I'm a user/owner of both current and vintage products.
    Keep the Collections coming! You are an inspiration :)
     
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  4. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    I'm bumping this thread back up because I have "updated" my shave set with new gear!
     
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  5. sdguero

    sdguero Well-Known Member

    I'm glad you did, Tim. I had not noticed the thread before and it's impressive!
    Dan
     
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  6. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    :happy096:

    Fantastic job, enjoy!
     
    Hembree likes this.
  7. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    Thanks! It took a while to figure out how I was going to make the Shulton set stand out. I think Shulton deserved to shine more among my sets. It is after all, one of the most well loved scents in classic shaving. Only a few come to the level of Shulton's Old Spice. Bay Rum and perhaps Clubman Pinaud and Aqua Velva. After those classics, it's a steep drop in popularity.
     
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  8. GawainandtheGreenKnight

    GawainandtheGreenKnight Well-Known Member

    What a gorgeous set, great job!

    :eatdrink047:
     
  9. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    Yeah. This is one rare vintage shaving set. No other like it exists in the world. The custom metal "Grand Turk" shave stand and unique custom shave brush are the highlights of this set. The most rare vintage item of this set is the Old Spice "Tester" spray cologne bottle. This was never for sale and were only given to retail stores for display testing purposes. I ran across these on ebay and bought 6 bottles of a limited number. I think the seller picked them up at a yard sale in a bulk pack of something like 18 total bottles. This makes these Shulton Old Spice bottles extremely rare and the fact that I have 6 of them is unbelievable.

    I found out by accident that the modern Old Spice cologne spray caps fit these old testers! I have since coated them with gray primer paint to match the gray top on the vintage aftershave. That picture is coming soon to update this thread next week once the paint is fully cured/hardened.
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2018
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  10. BlueShaver

    BlueShaver Premature Latheration Sufferer

    [​IMG]




    This is the greatest thing i have seen today,

    My Kidneys are in the post...
     
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  11. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    It is a very special set. This and the Silver shave set are the best in my den I think.
     
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  12. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    I'm going to puzzle over this statement all day. Don't explain it... :signs002:
     
    BlueShaver likes this.
  13. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I saw that "boat" and went "hmm...never seen that before." Then I realized it was fabbed up for you. Awesome!

    I imagine you are keeping your eyes peeled for the blue/white wade pottery mug set with lid as well?
     
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  14. myles wilson

    myles wilson Moth Ball Mouth

    do you know if there are any of those ship bottle holders still available online, I'd like to store my Vintage old spice bottles in one of those. Iv'e got about 5 bottles and still trying to make a large stash of full bottles, before they become unavailable one day.
     
    Enrico likes this.
  15. Tim Spencer

    Tim Spencer Well-Known Member

    [​IMG] Josh Lindt of Desire Metal Works <- Clickable Link

    You can go to the Josh Lindt Etsy shop and use the option to "contact" him and you can ask if he would like to take on another Old Spice Command Ship project. Be prepared for a cost-no-object mindset when you're asking artisans to make custom projects. They work many hours, days, weeks and even have to re-paint sometimes. The money you pay never really compensates an artisan for all the hours. Artisans do this because they love making something for someone.
     
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  16. myles wilson

    myles wilson Moth Ball Mouth

    Thank You!
     
  17. Enrico

    Enrico Popcorn

    Wow very impressive!

    :happy096:
     
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  18. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Re-reading this thread has reminded me of something I wanted to mention earlier. It is very rare for a fragrance to be scented exactly the same across a range of products.

    Often some scents must be left out or substituted. If I remember correctly, most vanilla extracts/scents are not suitable for use in shave soap, as they will cause the soap to turn dark brown.

    I'm not saying that is the case here, but it's hard to say how different a scent might be from it's original incarnation after sitting for 15-35 years.
     
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  19. myles wilson

    myles wilson Moth Ball Mouth

    is it possible that the vanilla note in the old spice shave soap is a synthetic vanilla note, because mine and many other vintage os pucks i've seen are still white.
     
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  20. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I was just using that as an example. Adding vanilla stabilizer or titanium dioxide will counteract the darkening effect of vanilla.

    But as you said, it could be a synthetic vanilla fragrance. And if the original Shulton recipe for the aftershave used a natural vanilla fragrance? We would see a divergence in the scents over time. Just something to think about.

    With that being said, I am positive that they went with the cheapest possible option wherever possible. Hard to blame them, Old Spice is still one of the best "bang for buck" timeless fragrances out there.

    If it's considered "dated," it's only because pops or grandad wore it. :)
     
    myles wilson likes this.

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